56” Pipeline Micro-tunneling Sacrificial Coating

Project Overview

Saudi Aramco was executing a large-scale micro-tunneling project and needed to protect hundreds of feet of new 56” pipeline during the installation process. Running underground from rigs in the field to the plant, the pipeline would first be tunneled through some of the most unforgiving rocky terrain on earth. The company turned to NRI for an engineered solution, Scar-Guard-E, to encase and protect the pipe, not only during the micro-tunneling process, but in service, as well. First the pipe’s surface was prepped with a sweep blast to roughen the factory applied fusion-bonded epoxy coating. The weld joints were coated with a primer-coat of Thermo-Poxy and while the Thermo-Poxy was still wet, the crew applied the Scar-Guard-E composite system and used heat lamps to speed the cure process.

From an ice bath to a heat lamp to cure in a matter of minutes, NRI’s Scar-Guard E was ready. The micro-tunneling process was a success. On a Jack & Bore installation some damage to the coating system is almost always expected, but on a 56” pipeline the weight of the pipe alone is a threat to the coating system’s integrity. Scar-Guard-E allowed this project to go off without a hitch and protected the pipe and the corrosion coating during the installation and after.

The success of this project has resulted in Saudi Aramco’s continued use of Scar-Guard-E for many miles of pipe that has been bored or drilled in since.

Contact Details

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